Curtail

Monster U.S. oil supply growth will force domestic producers to curtail onshore activity in the upcoming weeks but it won’t be soon enough for 2013 oil prices, which likely will be “uglier than expected,” Raymond James & Associates Inc. analysts said Monday.

Cequence Energy Ltd., a junior explorer based in Calgary, said low natural gas prices have forced it to curtail 1.8 MMcf/d of production in the Peace River Arch area of northwestern Alberta. The producer also has reduced its 2012 capital budget by almost two-thirds, to C$36 million from $100 million. Cequence now expects production through June to average 10,200 boe/d, down from a prior estimate of 12,000 boe/d. Five horizontal wells (gross) are to be drilled in the first six months of this year. “Maintaining our balance sheet while moderating our growth profile in the current low natural gas price environment will allow Cequence the flexibility to add to our existing asset base by capitalizing on new opportunities as they arise,” said CEO Paul Wanklyn. In addition to Peace River, Cequence also operates in the Deep Basin of Alberta, where it has a prospective gas leasehold in the Simonette-Kaybob formation. “The stacked, liquids‐rich targets at Simonette remain an excellent source of significant future production and reserves growth for Cequence, in an improved natural gas price environment,” said the CEO.

Technology exists to curtail natural gas flaring, but it will take a concerted effort worldwide to capture the lost gas, an energy arm of General Electric Co. (GE) said in a new report.

Opal Plant operator Williams Field Services (WFS) said it was continuing to curtail Cycle 3 (Intraday 1) nominations for Wednesday’s gas day after the Turbo Expander Plant 4 went down again (see Daily GPI, Nov. 3) after an attempted start at 5:45 p.m. MDT Tuesday. WFS said further investigation revealed the issue, and manufacturer Solar has located replacement parts that would be on site Wednesday. The new estimated time for restoring full Opal capacity was midnight Wednesday.

ExxonMobil Corp. has no plans in the near-term to curtail any of its U.S. natural gas production, a company executive said Thursday.

ExxonMobil Corp. has no plans in the near-term to curtail any of its U.S. natural gas production, a company executive said Thursday.

Low natural gas prices led EnCana Corp. to curtail or shut in about 500 MMcf/d of its North American production in 3Q2009, but the producer is forecasting a price “correction” in the coming year, CEO Randy Eresman said last week.

Low natural gas prices led EnCana Corp. to curtail or shut in about 500 MMcf/d of its North American production in 3Q2009, but the producer is forecasting a price “correction” in the coming year, CEO Randy Eresman said Thursday.

A cap-and-trade system to curtail greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that hands out credits to polluters for free would be worse than doing nothing as it would subsidize the dirtiest coal-fired generators, a Rice University researcher has warned.